Taking Turns
by AliasCWN
Summary: Hitch and Tully decide it's their turn to rescue the sargeants


**Taking Turns**

By: Alias CWN

The guards shoved the two sergeants into the small cell and pushed them up against the wall. They grabbed the chains suspended there and made short work of securing the prisoners.

In the hall, two more prisoners watched the procedure with growing unease.

The German captain in command watched the younger captives exchange a worried glance and he smiled. The privates would be more receptive to interrogation once they saw their leaders defeated. The captain ushered the privates away from the door but not before he allowed them to witness several punishing blows to the chained men.

Opening a cell across the hall from the first, the younger soldiers were forced inside at gunpoint. The youngest one was pushed across the threshold and he stumbled into his friend who threw out his arm to catch him. The second prisoner threw the guard a murderous look that was not lost on the captain. He had noticed earlier how the sargeants had guarded the young blond when a German soldier had made a threatening move toward him. Seeing what he considered a weakness to be exploited, the German decided to use it to his advantage. Stepping into he cell he studied the youth before him and considered his approach.

"You look too young to be a seasoned soldier." He said to the blond. He kept his voice gentle as if speaking to a friend.

"I'm old enough." The blond muttered quietly. He kept his head down and refused to meet the captain's eyes.

"Perhaps. Perhaps." The German conceded. "But you look more like a new replacement to me. " There was no response from the boy. "There is no need to share their fate. After all, if you are new to this unit you cannot be held responsible for their earlier actions." He tried to meet the youth's eyes but the young American refused to look at him.

The blond glanced over at his red headed companion who was watching the exchange with a grim expression. Their eyes met for a moment before the blond looked away.

"I don't know what you mean." He mumbled. "I'm a part of this team" he added more forcefully. He glanced at the red head as if to get confirmation of his declaration.

The Captain smiled at the gesture. The blond was nervous and tense. Certain that the youth would break under interrogation he none the less decided to try to undermine any support the second man might offer.

"Your friends cannot help you. Each of you will get your chance to cooperate. Perhaps you can help your friends though. I only want the answers to a very few questions." When neither prisoner responded he continued. "Think about it. We will give your sargeants the first opportunity to tell us what we want to know." The heavy door closed leaving the two young soldiers alone.

"They just brought Troy back. They're taking Moffitt now." Hitch whispered to Tully. He put his eye back to the crack in the door to watch the guards drag the Englishman away.

"How'd Troy look?"

"Pretty bad. I think he's unconscious. They chained him to the wall again."

Hitch moved from the door to sit next to Tully on the only cot in the cell.

"They don't seem to leave a guard outside. At least I haven't seen or heard one."

"That's in our favor at least."

"This might not work Tully. What if they don't believe that you're already hurt?"

"Then we play it by ear." His friend answered. Leaning back against the wall Tully grinned at Hitch and rolled his matchstick between is lips. The blond smiled in return and began to pace the floor as Tully settled down to take a nap.

The sound of footsteps sent Hitchcock to the door again to peek through the crack. He watched as a battered Moffitt was carried into the cell and chained to the wall. The English sergeant looked every bit as bad as his American counterpart before him. Hitch threw a worried look at Tully who was awake and watching him. With a nod he mouthed the words 'show time' as the door to their cell opened.

Mark Hitchcock backed away from the door with his hands out in front of him as if to ward off evil. The guards, seeing this, smiled and took a step toward him.

Tully groaned, wrapped his arms around his ribs, and pushed himself to his feet. Moving quickly, he placed himself between Hitch and the advancing guards. The scowl on his face a clear warning to leave his friend alone. Taking the hint, they instead rushed forward and grabbed Tully by the arms. They pulled him struggling from the room. Hitch's cry of anguish followed them down the hall.

The interrogation room was a cold barren space in the basement. A creaky wooden chair was the only piece of furniture. Hanging on the walls were various instruments whose sole use was to cause pain. The Captain believed that a prisoner was more cooperative with the visual reminders of what their future could hold.

Tully was dragged to the chair and pushed into the seat. He again held his ribs and groaned as if in pain. Ropes held his wrists and ankles securely to the chair frame. The first blow split his lip. Tully glared at the captain and spit blood on his polished boots. The blows came hard and fast after that. The questions were repeated over and over until Tully just wanted to scream at the German to 'just shut up'. Tully did his best to just ignore the questions and pretend to be hurt worse than he was for real. It was getting harder and harder to breath. Finally he let the darkness take over.

When he regained consciousness he was lying on the cold floor of his cell. Hitch was gone. Struggling to clear his head he pulled himself into the corner behind the door.

Tully fought to stay awake. He didn't know how long Hitch had been gone but he needed to be awake when he returned.

Mark Hitchcock watched in horror as Tully was unceremoniously dumped on the floor of their cell. Huge bruises covered his friend's face and neck, already darkening to black. Tully's eyes were so swollen that Hitch was not sure he would be able to open them. He let his distress show on his face as he backed away from the advancing guards. They laughed and reached for him but Hitch batted their hands away and turned to run. They quickly cornered him and pulled him whimpering from the room.

Once in the interrogation room Hitch tried to cower away from the Captain. Seeing the naked fear in his eyes amused the German. He ordered him bound to the chair the same way they had secured the others. Stepping past Hitch he walked to the wall and studied the instruments on display. Reaching out he picked a leather strap off a nail and walked around to stand before his victim.

"I hope you understand Private. My hands are rather sore from speaking with your friends." He slapped the leather into the palm of his hand as he studied the young man in the chair. He enjoyed the jerk reaction he got every time he cracked the leather on his hand. With a cruel smile he circled his prisoner prolonging the anticipation. "I hope you are more cooperative than they have been. I will have to speak with them again soon." The young soldier before him shivered in response. "Shall we begin?"

The screams could be heard in the upstairs holding cells. Troy and Moffitt, who had regained consciousness recognized the source of the heart rending sounds even through their own pain. Both men cursed the Germans in general and the captain in particular. Troy swore he would kill the officer if he ever got the chance. Each hung helpless from their chains and suffered with their young friend. The screams turned to cries for his mother before he lapsed into silence. The silence seemed to drag on forever before he was returned to his cell half conscious and sobbing.

Hitch sobbed weakly and leaned heavily on the guards as they took him back to his cell. He staggered and stumbled repeatedly as they made their way to the door. One guard pushed him into the arms of the second guard so he could open the door. Glancing inside he saw Tully still lying motionless in the corner. Stepping inside he turned to help the second guard drag the half conscious prisoner into the room. Once clear of the door they tried to drop him but he clung to them desperately. Whimpering, he fell, nearly dragging them down with him. They were so intent on Hitchcock that they did not notice Tully rise up behind them until it was too late. A quick chop of the hand on the neck and the first guard went down, followed by the second as Hitch gave him a chop of his own.

The two privates grinned at each other in triumph. They quickly stripped the guards of weapons and keys. Gathering the rifles and a knife, they checked the hall for any other sentries. Seeing none, they staggered across the hall to the room holding the sargeants. Using the keys liberated from the guards they opened the door and slipped in , shutting it behind them. At the surprised look on the faces of their sargeants they smiled despite split lips and black eyes.

"We figured it was our turn to rescue you." Tully grinned.

The two men returned the grin, happy to see the younger men alive. Tully looked battered but not beaten. They both eyed Hitch with concern, remembering the cries of earlier. The blond had his back to them watching the hall through a crack in the door. They shared a look with Tully and were surprised to see him smile in return. Before they could question him Hitch tensed and called in a hiss from his post.

"Company coming."

A single set of footsteps could be heard coming down the hall. The four men gathered around the door as Hitch quietly closed the door completely. The footsteps stopped outside the door to the cell the privates had shared. As that door hinge creaked Hitch slipped out behind the German captain and caught his head in a tight grip. The knife finished the job without a sound and Hitch shoved the body into the cell with the unconscious guards. He stood looking down at the body until Troy leaned over his shoulder to look at the still form.

"Let's shake it" He whispered. Taking the lead Sgt. Troy led his team past sleepy guards who never saw them pass or realized how close they came to death. They confiscated a car from the motor pool and shot their way out of the hands of the enemy. Once in the clear they vanished into the desert night.

Troy watched Hitch pull the camouflage net off the jeep and fold it to stow it in the back. After their escape they had returned to their hidden jeeps and camped for the night. All four of them were hurt and exhausted and had needed the rest. Now the sun was coming up and the Germans would come searching for them. It was time to move.

Troy studied the men of his team. Tully was favoring his ribs and his eyes were mere slits in his face. Moffitt's eyes were so swollen that Troy wasn't sure he could see to shoot. His own weren't much better. He hoped they could avoid a fight on their way home. None of them were in shape to bounce around in the jeeps at their usual breakneck speed.

Hitch had some bruising but not as much as the others. Troy could see him wince in pain every time he stretched to reach for something. The sounds of his cries still haunted Troy. It was his responsibility to take care of his men and he had failed his young driver. The young man had been unusually quiet since their escape.

Troy looked over at the other jeep as Tully pulled up next to him. Moffitt sat stiffly in the passenger's seat, When their eyes met they both turned to study Hitch. Both sargeants watched as he busied himself around his jeep, not paying any attention to them.

Troy decided he needed to talk to him before they returned to base and had to file areport.

"Hitch."

The blond looked up in surprise to find both sargeants watching him.

"We need to talk." Troy called from his seat in the jeep.

"About what Sarge?"

Moffitt thought Hitch looked genuinely puzzled. A suspicion crossed his mind but the screams echoing in his head convinced him it wasn't possible.

"Last night Hitch." Sam began. He didn't quite know how to begin the conversation. He didn't want to embarrass the young soldier. "It's alright to be scared. Yell all you want. No one here is gonna judge you." He continued earnestly.

"Thanks Sarge. I appreciate that. " the young blond answered. He finished checking his jeep and walked around to slide into the seat next to Troy.

"What Sam is trying to say," Moffitt jumped in when Sam faltered, "is that even strong men have been known to call for their mother in times of great stress."

Oh, that." Hitch laughed. "That was all part of our plan. Right Tully?"

"Right." Tully agreed with a grin.

"Ya see Sarge. That captain figured that I was too young to be a regular part of this group. He figured he could scare me into cooperating. Tully and I played along to get him to drop his guard." The two privates smiled proudly at their plan.

"Then you weren't really calling for your mother? Or screaming in pain?" Jack Moffitt stared incredulously at his young teammate.

"Oh the pain was real Doc. I didn't need to fake that. But if I ever feel the need to call for someone's mother, it won't be my mother I call."

The sargeants looked at each other in confusion.

"What do you mean Hitch?" Troy finally ask when Hitch didn't explain.

"Well, I think if I ever call for a mother and she could somehow appear, I'd want it to be Tully's mother."

Now all three of his friends were staring at his in surprise.

"Tully's mother?"

"Yeah. I figure if one of them should happen to show up, my mother wouldn't be a lot of help. But Tully's mom, I figure if she appeared, she'd have a shotgun in her hands and those krauts would never know what hit 'em." Hitch grinned. "Yep. I'd call for Tully's mom." Without another word he gunned the engine and the jeep headed for home with the laughter of his friends echoing in his ears,


End file.
